Estimates for February reveal Tennessee’s county unemployment rates have decreased in all 95 counties, according to data released Thursday by the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development.
“Not only did the unemployment rate decrease in each of the state’s metropolitan areas, more importantly, the rates are down significantly in our counties with the most unemployed Tennesseans,” said TDLWD Commissioner Burns Phillips.
At 11.2 percent, Lake County had the state’s highest unemployment rate in January. The estimated county rate is now 8.5 percent, nearly a three-point decrease.
Specific county information for the month of February is available online at http://tn.gov/assets/entities/labor/attachments/Labor_Force_Estimates,_Feb_17.pdf.
For the month of February, Davidson County has the state’s lowest major metropolitan rate at 3.6 percent, a decline from 4.1 percent the previous month. Knox County is 4.1 percent, decreasing from the previous month’s 4.7 percent. Hamilton County declined from its previous month’s rate of 5.5 to 4.8 percent. The Shelby County rate is 5.5 percent rate, a decrease from January’s 6.3 percent.
Preliminary unemployment rates for Tennessee and the U.S. have lowered by one-tenth of a percentage point in February. The decline places rates at 5.3 and 4.7 percent, respectively.
“In January, Tennessee had three counties with an unemployment rate higher than 10 percent but now, not one county reached that level,” according to Commissioner Phillips. “While many variables determine county monthly unemployment rates, February’s report is definitely a highlight, being this early into the year.”
The state and national unemployment rates are seasonally adjusted, while the county unemployment rates are not. Seasonal adjustment is a statistical technique that eliminates the influences of weather, holidays, opening and closing of schools, and other recurring seasonal events from economic time series.
The Economic Analysis and Labor Force Estimates are prepared by the Employment Security division’s labor market information specialists. The division reports metrics and contextual information as it relates to employment, income, and population in Tennessee. Labor force topics are narrated in monthly newsletters and additional resources are available on Jobs4TN.gov.
The state unemployment release for March will be published on Thursday, April 20, at 1:30 p.m. CT.